In This Issue
Network Conference
NYC Budget
Lenniger Opening
Huyler Held
CHPC Luncheon
Jerome Court
Creedmoor Opening
Fran Barrett
John Doar
Close to Home
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2012 Conference


Registration is now open for the 12th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference! To learn more about this year's lineup, see the story to your right. We hope you'll join us on June 7!  

Tenant Profiles
We've uploaded three new tenant stories on our profiles page. Follow the links to meet Ashley, Ebony and Jacqueline, three mothers in supportive housing from across the state. If you'd like to see a tenant profiled on our website, contact us


See pictures from the grand opening celebration of The Lenniger Residences, two new supportive housing residences in the Bronx from the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS). 

Jobs

Check out these job openings and many others on our Jobs Board. Network members can post their employment opportunities for free!

Henry Street Settlement

Common Ground

New Destiny Housing Corporation  
Supportive housing
in the news

THE NEW YORK TIMES PROFILES Hour Children, a Queens-based supportive housing provider, in a larger piece on extraordinary nuns and the Vatican.
 
THE CORPORATION FOR Supportive Housing's Deborah De Santis argues for the effectiveness of family supportive housing in the Huffington Post. 
 
WBNG CHANNEL 12 AND PRESS Connects cover the grand opening celebration of North Church Apartments, a new supportive housing building in Binghamton. The residence was created by Volunteers of America - Western New York.  
 
NBC SAN DIEGO HIGHLIGHTS
the Project 25 "Home Again" initiative, which housed 30 formerly homeless individuals and saved millions in taxpayer dollars in the process.
 
Supportive housing comings and goings

JESSICA KATZ IS THE NEW Assistant Commissioner of Preservation Finance at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD). Ms. Katz, a former member of the Network's Board of Directors, had previously served as Executive Director of the Lantern Group from 2009-2011. The position marks a return to HPD for Ms. Katz; she worked as Director of Housing Development at the Division of Special Needs Housing from 2003-2009. We're very happy to see Ms. Katz at HPD and wish her nothing but the best in her new role. 

DOUG JAMES HAS TAKEN OVER as the new Deputy Commissioner for Single Adult Services at the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Deputy Commissioner James was previously the Deputy General Counsel of Programs and External Affairs for five years at DHS. Congratulations to him on his new post!

 

AFTER MORE THAN NINE YEARS at the Catholic Charities Housing Office in Albany, Brenda McAteer has left her post as Assistant Director of Operations to become a Housing Specialist in the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance's Bureau of Housing and Support Services (BHSS). Ms. McAteer helped oversee the $3.9 million rehabilitation of the St. Peter's Residence in Troy, which won the Residence of the Year award at the 2010 Network Awards Gala. We look forward to working with Ms. McAteer in her essential new role.    

 

WENDY FLEISCHER HAS LEFT
the Pratt Center for Community Development after more than four years to restart her independent consulting practice. Ms. Fleischer founded and led the Sustainability Services Unit at Pratt, where she created the Retrofit NYC Block by Block project, launched the Brooklyn Greens initiative and oversaw the NYSERDA Energy Smart Communities contract for Brooklyn and Queens. She will now consult to foundations and nonprofits doing program development, research and writing about community and economic development, environmental sustainability, building retrofits, health and the intersection of those fields. We look forward to working with Ms. Fleischer in her new capacity.

DAVID MUCHNICK IS THE NEW Director of Policy and Research at New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). As Coordinator for Housing First! over the past few years, Mr. Muchnick was instrumental in leading the Housing First! coalition in helping to secure hundreds of millions of additional resources for affordable housing at the State level, preserving the City's capital budget commitment to the Mayor's New Housing Marketplace and keeping affordable housing development as a front-burner issue. We know he will bring a unique, creative and rigorous perspective to HCR in his new position. 

 

CHRIS WINWARD IS LEAVING
her post as Director of Budget & Policy at the Human Services Counsel (HSC), where she has been a trusted ally for five years. She will be the Agency Liaison for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and will serve as the main contact person for Catholic Charities' 90-member federation of human service providers throughout the Hudson Valley, the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island. We wish her the best of luck in her new position.   
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Greetings!
Welcome to the May 2012 issue of Network News, the Supportive Housing Network of New York's monthly e-newsletter. In this issue, you'll find stories on the upcoming 12th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference, the Lenniger Residences grand opening, the NYC budget and more. As always, we welcome story ideas and tips for future issues. Thanks for reading!
Network conference set for June 7!
Nation's largest supportive housing conference returns

Cornel West delivers the keynote address at the 11th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference.

Registration is now open for the 12th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference!

This year's gathering will feature 24 panels, breakfast, a morning plenary, lunch and a cocktail reception. The all-day event takes place on June 7 at the New York Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.


This year's conference should be our best ever, with workshops and panel discussions to tempt developers, line-staff, executive directors and everyone involved with developing, operating and providing services in supportive housing. Several panels will focus on the newly created Supportive Housing Program under Medicaid Redesign. There will also be panels on new development models, exciting new types of partnerships, building health into residences and how to significantly cut operating costs through overall agency greening. We'll feature brand new research on chronic street homeless people as tenants and on targeting resources to high-needs individuals -- chronic alcoholics, people with mental illness in the criminal justice system and high-cost Medicaid recipients. We'll have best practices workshops on getting tenants into jobs, on hoarding, on trauma-based care for veterans, DV survivors and foster youth, on using data to improve programs...even pet therapy.

All supportive housing-related state and city commissioners and other leaders will be among the panelists this year: Elizabeth Berlin, Seth Diamond, Robert Doar, Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez, Jason Helgerson, Michael Hogan, Adam Karpati, John Rhea, Ronald Richter, Darryl Towns and Mathew Wambua. Workshops will include time set aside to ask questions and share advice.

In addition to the workshops, a networking lunch and post-conference reception will offer chances to connect with colleagues (as well as eat, drink and be merry). A select group of exhibitors will also be on hand throughout the day.

To learn more about the conference and register, visit the Network's website. We look forward to seeing you on June 7!
Bloomberg releases New York City budget
A mixed bag for NYC supportive housing

A sign held at a recent Network-attended rally to highlight proposed cuts to on-site case managers in HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA)-funded supportive housing.  

Mayor Bloomberg's recently-released 2012-2013 Executive Budget contains a number of key provisions that impact the supportive housing community.


Most notably, the budget fails to restore a $7.1 million cut to HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) supportive housing contracts. The cut, if enacted, will result in estimated layoffs of over 200 on-site supportive housing case workers. The budget also proposes a $1.4 million cut to HIV prevention programs and a $995,000 cut to the Momentum Food & Nutrition program.

Last year the Network worked with City Council Speaker Quinn, General Welfare Chair Palma, other City Council members, tenants, members and fellow advocates to successfully convince the Council to restore this cut. The Council needs to restore this funding again this year -- or convince the administration to do so -- by June 30; otherwise, the cuts take effect on July 1. The Network submitted testimony to the General Welfare Committee and will testify again at the next round of budget hearings.

On a more positive note, the budget includes $3.8 million for 300 new NY/NY III supportive housing units, completing the Human Resources Administration's (HRA) NY/NY III commitment. Coupled with state funding, this will result in $7.7 million dollars in total new funding for the initiative. An RFP for these units is expected early in the new fiscal year. The Network has worked closely with HRA/HASA leadership on this issue and would like to thank them and their staff for expediting the funding of these units.

The Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) is continuing its commitment to supportive housing despite a recent 46% cut in federal HOME dollars. HOME has historically served as the main source of funding for the city's Supportive Housing Loan Program. Despite the severe cuts in federal funding, HPD's capital plan allocates $247 million dollars to supportive housing initiatives, including New York/New York III. The Network thanks Commissioner Wambua and the remarkable staff at HPD for their dedication to building more supportive housing.

If you have any questions or would like to participate in our upcoming advocacy efforts, please email or call Edline Jacquet at (646) 619-9646. We hope you'll help us restore these cuts!
CUCS celebrates Lenniger grand opening
New residence offers 92 units in the Bronx

Participants gather on April 26 to cut the ribbon outside The Lenniger Residences, a pair of new supportive housing buildings in the Bronx. For more photos from the opening, see the Network's Facebook page.
 
Despite the overcast skies and slight chill, nearly everyone speaking at the opening of Center for Urban Community Services' (CUCS) Lenniger Residences declared it a beautiful day. Gesturing toward the sky, CUCS Board Chair Julie Sandorf joked that the residences' namesake -- lifelong Bronx social justice advocate Sister Barbara Lenniger -- had "a word with the guy in charge" to stave off rain. The two residences on either side of Hughes Avenue will provide housing and services to a mix of 92 formerly homeless and low-income individuals and families.

New tenant Teresa Benincasa spoke movingly about the difference Lenniger Residences and CUCS have made in her and her three-year-old daughter's lives. New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) Assistant Commissioner Tim O'Hanlon, Community Board 6 District Manager Ivine Galarza and NYC Councilmember Joel Rivera's Chief of Staff Albert Alvarez reminisced about Sister Barbara and her pioneering advocacy on behalf of the Bronx's most vulnerable families. Bronx Deputy Borough President Aurelia Greene, Executive Deputy Commissioner of NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Adam Karpati and NYC Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond praised the buildings' contribution to both the community and to ending homelessness. Also speaking were Common Ground Executive Director Brenda Rosen, Enterprise Community Partners Senior Program Director Daniel Magidson and Corporation for Supportive Housing New York's Director Diane Louard-Michel.

The ceremony closed with CUCS Executive Director Tony Hannigan presenting Sister Barbara with a plaque commemorating her indelible contributions. Sister Barbara in turn insisted she couldn't have created Thorpe Family Residence and Park Avenue Thorpe without the inspiration and tireless work of her fellow Dominican sisters, many of whom attended the celebration.  

The Lenniger Residences were developed with funding from HPD, The New York City Acquisition Fund, Deutsche Bank's DB Share and Enterprise Green Communities. Service funding is provided by DOHMH. The architect was Harden + Van Arnam and the builder was Mega Contracting.

Congratulations to everyone involved in creating these beautiful new buildings!
Huyler Held, NY philanthropist, passes away
Former Network donor leaves humanitarian legacy
Huyler Held, a lawyer and longtime philanthropist who supported an array of social and environmental causes across New York, passed away on April 16. He was 87 years old.

Mr. Held was a senior partner at McLaughlin & Stern, LLP and an active family lawyer until his death. He sat on the boards of numerous respected institutions, including the New York Botanical Gardens, the Nature Conservancy of NYS, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District and many others.

Mr. Held was also a regular and committed funder of the Supportive Housing Network of New York as the sole trustee of Rhodebeck Charitable Trust. Over the years, Mr. Held made a series of meaningful donations to help the Network achieve its core mission.

"Huyler had an enormous heart," said Network Executive Director Ted Houghton. "He once told me a story about his mother. One of her last wishes before her death was that Huyler help the homeless, and that's really what he did. His contributions helped organizations like the Network thrive."

Through the Rhodebeck Charitable Trust, Mr. Held made contributions to 25 Network members, including Broadway Housing Communities, Common Ground, Women in Need and Jericho Project.

"Huyler was one of New York City's philanthropic finest," said Ellen Baxter, Executive Director of Broadway Housing Communities. "Huyler's longstanding support of legal strategies to advance the lot of homeless individuals and families in NYC benefited many hundreds of thousands of people. He was offended by the injustice and visible suffering of homeless people and believed that a place to live is a basic human right. Huyler had little patience for process or paper and instead made his philanthropic decisions over lunch. A forthright and witty style were among his distinctive attributes. New York's homeless men, women and children have lost a very special guardian; may he rest in peace."

"Huyler was a delight," said Rosanne Haggerty, President of Community Solutions. "His life was about contributing to the civic good. He cared about everything from historic preservation to mental health services. He was convinced early on of the importance of housing to health and recovery, as a matter of basic dignity, and he took great pleasure in supporting many of our organizations, in maintaining personal connections with those he supported and in seeing our work evolve."

We're sincerely sorry to hear of Mr. Held's passing and express our condolences to his family and friends.
CHPC honors two Network board members
Annual Luncheon lauds Bill Traylor, Todd Gomez
The Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC) celebrated 75 years of helping to create thoughtful housing policy at its annual luncheon on April 25. Among the honorees were two members of the Network's Board of Directors: Bill Traylor, President of Richman Housing Resources, and Todd Gomez, Bank of America's Senior Vice President.

Kicking off the luncheon was archive footage of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia speaking about the need for creating quality affordable housing in New York. He was followed by a string of eloquent speakers, including CHPC Executive Director Jerilyn Perine, New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development Commissioner Mathew Wambua and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

CHPC then honored five individuals in the world of New York City development. New York City Housing Development Corporation President Marc Jahr waxed poetic about the extraordinary contributions Bill Traylor has made to housing policy in the nonprofit public and for-profit sectors. Robert Ezrapour of Artimus presented Todd Gomez with the Impact Award for Community Investment. Bank of America has made $67 million in investments in supportive housing alone over the past six years.

For a rundown of all winners and speakers, visit CHPC's website.
Alpha Workshops redesigns Jerome Court
Slideshow details the dramatic transformation

Palladia, Inc. has unveiled a gorgeous before-and-after slideshow of a design overhaul at its Jerome Court residence. The renovations come courtesy of The Alpha Workshops, which announced its plan last year to offer free design services to a small number of New York nonprofits. The Network alerted its members about Alpha's "Partners in Design" program in the February 2011 issue of Network News.

 

All told, Palladia received $30,000-worth of services to transform the lounge at Jerome Court into a lovely, inviting space.

 

"The room is very beautiful," said Helena S., a tenant at Jerome Court. "It is peaceful and comfortable. I like the color and the artwork."

 

Alpha was able to provide the services through a $45,000 grant from New York Community Trust. The organization is now at work on another design renovation at Downtown Community Television Center.

 

You can view the before-and-after slideshow here. The images truly speak for themselves.

Grand opening held for Queens residences
Three providers collaborate to offer 157 new units

Participants cut the ceremonial ribbon outside the Frank Padavan Residence in Queens. The project is one of three new residences at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. Photo courtesy of the Federation of Organizations.

April 20th was a day of dedications and ribbon cuttings as three new housing residences opened on Creedmoor Psychiatric Center's South Campus in Queens. The residences are run by three nonprofits: Association for Rehabilitative Case Management and Housing (ACMH), Transitional Services for New York, Inc. (TSI) and Federation of Organizations. 74 Avenue A, the Frank Padavan Residence and Hazel House opened their doors in January and collectively offer 157 units of CR/SRO housing to persons with serious mental illness. All three programs reside in the same building, each with individual entrances. The ceremony honored Senator Frank Padavan and Eve Hazel, former executive director of TSI, among others who were instrumental in the unique development.

"We are grateful for the collaboration between government funders and private investors in order to make this much-needed housing opportunity available in the borough of Queens," said Daniel Johansson, Executive Vice President and CEO of ACMH.

The residences were built with capital funding from OMH and Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) syndicated by the Richman Group.


ACMH's 74 Avenue A provides 55 supportive housing units and TSI's Hazel House has 52 units. In addition to Federation for Organizations' 50-unit Padavan Residence, the organization runs The Big Nosh, an on-site, tenant-run store.

Working together, the providers hired Ting & Li Architects and Aurora Contractors, Inc. to design and construct the circa-1925 building, which was gut-renovated for the project. Architect James Vassolotti designed The Big Nosh.

"What's really most unique about this project is that these providers worked so well together," said Caren Abate, Housing Director at OMH's NYC Field Office. "They had a vision and took an old building that had lots of problems and turned it into homes for more than 100 people."

The April 20 grand opening included ribbon-cutting ceremonies and residence tours. The event, attended by over 200 people, also included a slate of guest speakers, including Network Executive Director Ted Houghton.

Congratulations to ACMH, TSINY and Federations of Organizations on these new residences!
Fran Barrett to head new nonprofit post
CRE veteran to become Cuomo's Interagency Coordinator
Governor Andrew Cuomo is set to appoint Fran Barrett as New York's Interagency Coordinator for Not-for-Profit Services. The position, newly created, will help implement an executive order from Governor Cuomo to cap nonprofit executive compensation from state funds at $200,000. Ms. Barrett has worked with nonprofit organizations for decades, most notably as the founder and former Executive Director of Community Resource Exchange (CRE).

Ms. Barrett has received a battery of accolades and honors for her 30-plus years at CRE. They include a lifetime achievement award from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, the Brooke Russell Astor Award from the New York Public Library and an induction into the Thirteen/WNET's Community Hall of Fame. She is the wife of Wayne Barrett, famed muckraking reporter and senior editor for the Village Voice.

We're thrilled to see this new position go to such an esteemed figure in the New York nonprofit community. Congratulations to Ms. Barrett and to Governor Cuomo on his excellent choice for the role.
John Doar receives Medal of Freedom
President honors father of HRA commissioner
John Doar, famed civil rights activist and father of New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) Commissioner Robert Doar, has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mr. Doar accepted the award on April 26 alongside such fellow honorees as Bob Dylan, John Glenn and Madeleine Albright.

Mr. Doar served as Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division from 1960-1967. During this especially volatile period, Mr. Doar investigated civil rights abuses in the Deep South. He had involvement in several high-profile cases, including the assassination of Medgar Evers in 1963 and the Mississippi Burning lynchings of 1964.

"The values that have guided his life are the values that have made our city -- and our country -- a beacon to the world," said New York City Major Michael Bloomberg. "It's wonderful to see him receive the nation's highest civilian honor, and I know how proud his son, Robert, is of all his work."

We'd like to congratulate John Doar on receiving this most prestigious honor. To learn more about the 13 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, see here.
Network members make Close to Home list
ACS recommends 10 nonprofits to implement new initiative
The New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) has announced its list of recommended nonprofits to implement Governor Cuomo's recently-signed "Close to Home" initiative. The program, part of the 2012-2013 State budget, would remove youth offenders from State detention centers and place them in non-secure settings in and around New York City.

Of the 10 agencies chosen to provide 292 beds across the city, five were Network members: SCO Family of Services, Good Shepherd Services, New York Foundling Hospital, St. Vincent's Services and The Children Village.

For a complete list of recommended awardees and programs, see here.